Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Milwaukee Bucks 107 at Dallas Mavericks 108
Back on Nov. 16, the Dallas Mavericks needed overtime and a lucky roll on a buzzer-beating jumper from Dirk Nowitzki to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks.
Tuesday night, the Mavericks needed just 48 minutes to take down the Bucks, though they needed every bit of those 48 minutes to do so. And a little more luck didn't hurt.
With a strong defensive stand in the final seconds, the Mavericks escaped the American Airlines Center floor with a 108-107 win. Dating back to January of 2007, it is the team's 10th straight win in games decided by one point, which ties an NBA record. The achievement and the win prove to Mavs coach Rick Carlisle that his team is a clutch bunch.
"It says that we have guys that can keep cool in those situations," Carlisle said. "You've got to be able to execute at both ends to be able to have that kind of a run. My hat's off to (the players). I know this streak goes back now a couple of years. It's unusual. But to have a successful season, you have to be able to win close games and we've had a lot of them. We've won our share. The fact that we're experienced and have been here before certainly helps."
"In a close ball game we're not going to get rattled at all. We have a great team that understands what needs to be accomplished in a tight ball game," Jason Terry said of the historic streak.
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
The night began with Nowitzki tying Brad Davis for most career games (883) played in a Maverick uniform. Dallas got point guard Jason Kidd (personal reasons) and center Erick Dampier (left knee effusion) back in the starting lineup after missing the franchise record-setting 128-78 win over the New York Knicks, the largest margin of victory in team history. With their starting lineup intact, including Terry at the starting shooting guard spot after being featured mostly as a sixth man, the Mavericks looked to keep the momentum going against an upstart Bucks squad. As forward Shawn Marion finished above the rim, the Mavs grabbed an early advantage. Despite Bucks rookie sensation Brandon Jennings' and big man Andrew Bogut's best efforts, the Mavericks held a 28-27 lead at the end of one. Bogut and Jennings combined to score 19 in the opening quarter.
"We had great energy when we came out," Terry said. "I didn't see too many mental breakdowns. Our effort was there, and that's all we can do. You can't control the score of the ball game."
The Mavericks turned to their own rookie, Rodrigue Beaubois, in the second quarter. The Guadeloupe product sped up the tempo and provided timely scoring from the outside, including a 3-pointer with 5:32 left in the half to give Dallas a 47-41 advantage. Meanwhile, Nowitzki and Marion continued to attack the basket, offsetting a monster first half from Bogut at the other end. Milwaukee's 7-footer wasn't enough to overcome a balanced Dallas attack early, as the Mavericks took a 59-53 edge into the halftime break.
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
Bogut's 20 first half points, on a perfect 9-for-9 shooting, led all scorers after 24 minutes of play.
"They have a great player. Andrew Bogut is an All-Star if you ask me," Terry said.
But Marion and Nowitzki each posted 10 points while Terry added nine to pace the Dallas attack. Milwaukee out-shot Dallas in the half, 55 percent to 52 percent, but the Mavericks held a decisive advantage on the glass with a 22-14 rebounding advantage. Dallas also got every one into the act, using 18 assists to get scoring from nine Mavs.
Bogut's perfection ended on the opening possession of the second half, as Dampier sent back his shot attempt with a block. Still, the Bucks' deadly 3-point shooting quickly erased Dallas' lead early in the third quarter, until a pair of threes from Kidd and Terry put an end to Milwaukee's momentum. But the third quarter was a duel between Nowitzki and Bogut, with Dallas' star and his teammates getting the upper hand and taking an 83-77 lead into the fourth period.
Milwaukee began the fourth on a 7-2 run, cutting the Dallas lead to 85-84. The Bucks continued to come, eventually tying the game at 93-all with 6:43 remaining. But down the stretch, the ball found its way into Nowitzki's and Terry's hands, and the two sharpshooters showed that they know what to do with it. After the duo combined to score 15 straight, Kidd stepped in and rained in a 3-pointer to put the Mavs up 108-101 with 2:07 left. On the next possession, the Bucks' Carlos Delfino answered Kidd with a three of his own. Delfino then connected on a 32-foot, rain-making three to beat the shot clock and cut the Dallas lead to one with just 27.6 ticks on the game clock.
"The shot (Delfino) hit to bring it to one, we're up four, we had that game under control and that was just an amazing shot," Terry said.
"Milwaukee is a persistent team," Carlisle said. "We had a chance when it was 108-104. If we had gotten a stop and a score, it would have helped us."
After a Dallas timeout, the team once again went to Nowitzki, but Luc Mbah a Moute picked No. 41's pocket, forcing a steal and calling timeout with 3.0 seconds remaining for Milwaukee's game-winning attempt.
"They hung right in, which they do...The play where Dirk had the ball, we wanted to go to him and try to get a shot as late in the clock as we could. They made a good play to knock it loose," the coach added.
Bucks coach Scott Skiles went back to Delfino, but the swingman's driving floater had to find a way over Dampier's outstretched hands. Luckily for the Mavericks, the shot hit off the back of the iron as time expired to secure the one-point win for Dallas.
"It came down to a scramble on that last play. Marion fell down, Damp had to take his guy. He did a good job of getting up and making the shot difficult for Delfino. It's an escape. We were able to do it by getting a stop at the end, which is great for us...Happy to win," Carlisle said.
The victory ties the best mark in league history set by the St. Louis Hawks, who won 10 straight one-point contests from 1959-1960.
"It just shows that we're a veteran ball club -- we're not going to panic," Kidd said. "We can win a game with a shot at the end, or if we needed our defense to step up and get a stop, like tonight, we did that.
"That shows that this is a little bit different team. You always look at the Mavs as being an offensive juggernaut, and it shows that we can play both sides. And when we have to, we can get stops."
The Mavericks captured the win despite a career-high 32 points, on 13-for-14 from the field, coming from Bogut.
"(Bogut) is very skilled," Nowitzki said of his Milwaukee counterpart. "There's not a lot of big guys that have a soft touch right and left. He really had it going."
Meanwhile, Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 28 points, getting 21 points of support from Terry. While Marion (12) and Howard (13) each scored in double figures, Kidd racked up his 13th double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 assists.
Delfino added 22 points, as the Bucks finished the night out-shooting the Mavericks 53 percent to 51 percent. But the Mavericks out-dueled Milwaukee from behind the arch, knocking down 10-of-18 threes compared to the Bucks' 9-of-18.
"We've been fortunate...You give up nine threes and 50 percent shooting from the 3-point line, and it's going to be tough to win," Carlisle said.
"Our offense wasn't bad today, we shot over 50 percent and we shot the ball well from three," Nowitzki added. "Sometimes when you can't get any stops, you have to find a way to win with offense and that's what we did tonight."
The Mavs, who just completed a five-game road trip, head back out of the road and touch down in Phoenix to battle the Suns on Thursday night. Fittingly, the Mavericks claimed a one-point victory, a 102-101 home win, over the Suns in their Dec. 8 meeting. The Mavericks-Suns matchup will air nationally on TNT at 9:30 p.m. CT.
"(The Suns) really spread the floor well," Nowitzki said. "It's going to be a chllenge."
Dallas returns home to host the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS. The game will air locally on TXA 21, TXA HD and HD NET at 8 p.m. CT. The Mavericks will be out to avenge an 85-81 home loss on Dec. 22.
For up to the minute news on the Dallas Mavericks, visit Mavs.com. Follow Mavs.com’s Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.
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